Buffalo art auction brings in $27,000

Carrie Moore

Published: Thursday, October 3rd, 2013

Before the bidding got heated at the ninth annual Custer Stampede Buffalo Art Auction, bidders had the chance to look over the various forms of artwork, including Ross Lampshire’s “I’ve Seen Fire and I’ve Seen Rain,” above.

A battle raged Saturday afternoon at Custer State Park, leaving only one victorious.

After a back and forth bidding match, one winner walked away with a one-of-a-kind table top buffalo designed by Ross Lampshire. There really was no loser since a variety of artwork was available for bidding at the ninth annual Custer Stampede Buffalo Art Auction.

The 21 pieces, consisting of life-sized buffalo and free form works of art, brought in a total of $27,875. While the total was down from last year, Custer Area Chamber of Commerce office manager and events coordinator Miranda Boggs believes that may be due to a decrease in life-sized buffalo.

“We had only two life-sized buffalo statues this year compared to last year’s four,” she said. “Those generally bring in more profit.”

There were also less auction numbers given out, but Boggs believes there was still the same number of serious bidders as the previous year.

“Last year we had the VIP tent, so if people took an auction number and book, they were given a ticket to the VIP tent,” she said. “The tent was a huge draw last year since we gave away free snacks and drinks.”

The first items to go up for auction were the two life-sized buffalo statues. Art Cleveland Red Horse’s “Stars and Stripes” went for $3,900 while Lampshire’s “I’ve Seen Fire and I’ve Seen Rain” was the top seller with $4,000 as the winning bid.

A battle raged Saturday afternoon at Custer State Park, leaving only one victorious.

After a back and forth bidding match, one winner walked away with a one-of-a-kind table top buffalo designed by Ross Lampshire. There really was no loser since a variety of artwork was available for bidding at the ninth annual Custer Stampede Buffalo Art Auction.

The 21 pieces, consisting of life-sized buffalo and free form works of art, brought in a total of $27,875. While the total was down from last year, Custer Area Chamber of Commerce office manager and events coordinator Miranda Boggs believes that may be due to a decrease in life-sized buffalo.

“We had only two life-sized buffalo statues this year compared to last year’s four,” she said. “Those generally bring in more profit.”

There were also less auction numbers given out, but Boggs believes there was still the same number of serious bidders as the previous year.

“Last year we had the VIP tent, so if people took an auction number and book, they were given a ticket to the VIP tent,” she said. “The tent was a huge draw last year since we gave away free snacks and drinks.”

The first items to go up for auction were the two life-sized buffalo statues. Art Cleveland Red Horse’s “Stars and Stripes” went for $3,900 while Lampshire’s “I’ve Seen Fire and I’ve Seen Rain” was the top seller with $4,000 as the winning bid.

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